Goats are the new sheep
In the war against weeds, the battle grounds have been lost and won by man since time started. Herbicides, pesticides, brushcutters and bobcats have been the go to solutions in recent history but now enter the latest weapon: the goat and sheep. Management of farms, woodlots, waterways or in thick vegetation where mechanized equipment cannot reach is an ideal alternative for these animals and is much more, back to nature. Controlling weeds with goats and other animals also eliminates the use of other technology that can either harm the land or actually encourage more invasive species to grow. Ploughing can actually expose more dormant seeds and encourage further growth but seeds ingested by goats are killed in their stomachs, reducing the likelihood of repeat problems. As long as the animals are trained and know their job they don’t cause havoc; they eat the weeds and subsequently fertilize the land. In many countries now, there are goat and sheep companies that rent out these animals year around saving hundreds of dollars in labour, maintenance and depreciation costs of using conventional methods, reducing any long term maintenance cost by the users. In a large scale organic setting, they’re really the only way to combat weeds.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/goats-new-sheep-randy-bilesky?published=t
http://www.delta-optimist.com/opinion/blogs/blog-goats-are-the-new-sheep-1.2337360
